Bradley Smoked Wild Alaskan Salmon

[smoker pete]

Washington only allows you to keep hatchery-reared steelhead on selected rivers.  The Fish and Game Department has a restoration and preservation plan for the wild steelhead population.

[iceman]

One question, put some in a zip lock bag in the refrig and noticed it was very oily this morning, is that normal?

When the fish cools down it shrinks up a bit and will "squeeze" some of the oil out. It's normal. If you vacuum seal it it will eventually absorb it back in.

[lorneparker1]

This is a great recipe! I have used it numerous times.

Not trying to stir the pot....

But Please e dont eat farmed salmon. Gross and and killing our wild stocks up here in BC.

Lorne

[Reboot]

Another smoked salmon first timer here and it's a total success!!  :D :D :D :D :D :D

Thanks for the recipe Kummok!!!  Wifey is super happy with the results and when Wifey's happy...

[mikecorn.1]

Looks great!


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

[rooster85]

Im about to try this recipie today, it looks fantastic. Steaks or strips though? Is it preference or is it best to go with strips?

[rooster85]

Also, is there a substitute to pickling salt?

[Habanero Smoker]

Also, is there a substitute to pickling salt?

You can use kosher salt, but you must weigh it. Pickling salt weighs 10.2 ounces per cup; which can be rounded off to 10 ounces. Salts labeled sea salt will also have to be weighed, but those types of salts may contain impurities that may impart some additional flavors in you food. Another substitute would be non-iodized table salt, that measures the same as pickling salt.

[pmmpete]

Rooster85 asked, "Steaks or strips though? Is it preference or is it best to go with strips?"  Sometimes I smoke whole fillets, because they look cool.  However, if you chop the fillets up into smaller pieces, the brine and smoke will penetrate better, and you can sort the pieces by thickness on trays in your smoker.  Then you can leave the trays with thicker pieces in the smoker longer, or you can move them to a hotter area in your smoker.  It's also easier to vacuum package smaller pieces.  So generally I'd say, cut your fillets up into pieces.

Rooster85 also asked "is there a substitute to pickling salt?"  Different kinds of salt have different grain sizes and shapes, and thus different densities.  For an explanation of the densities of different kinds of salt, and conversion volumes and weights for different kinds of salt, see Reply 386 in this thread, which is on Page 26 of this thread.  In addition, some kinds of salt contain various additives and impurities.  For example, you shouldn't use iodized salt when brining fish, because the iodine will make the fish taste bad.  Table salt often contains calcium silicate, an anti-caking agent, and sea salt contains various minerals in addition to salt.  Rock salt isn't intended for eating, so who knows what is in it.

[Habanero Smoker]

Though you should keep in mind, when converting salts it is always better to use weight. Morton's Pickling Salt and Morton's Table salt have the same crystal size and density. I use Morton's Kosher, Pickling & Canning, and table salts. I know their densities. That chart shows their pickling and table salts at different weights per volume. It has the table salt almost twice the amount as the pickling salt per volume. It even has Morton's Kosher salt, more dense than their Pickling salt. That is wrong, and it brings the whole chart into question.

[pmmpete]

Habanero Smoker, do you have a chart for converting volumes of different kinds of salt to weights which you think is accurate?  I agree that it is best to list weights of salt rather than volumes of salt in fish brine recipes, because different kinds of salt have different densities.  And when I try out a new fish brine recipe, usually the first thing I need to do is convert the volume of whatever kind of salt is specified in the recipe to a weight which will work with any kind of salt.  Unfortunately, my googling has turned up quite a variety of weights for different kinds of salt, and quite a variety of conversion factors.  It would be great to have an authoritative conversion table for use in converting volumes of different kinds of salt to weights.

[Tenpoint5]

  Unfortunately, my googling has turned up quite a variety of weights for different kinds of salt, and quite a variety of conversion factors.  It would be great to have an authoritative conversion table for use in converting volumes of different kinds of salt to weights.

This brings up the question. Which chart is correct? As you have noted there are numerous different charts with different results. I would suggest calling the manufacturer of the salt that your using and ask them the specific densities of the particular salt that you are using.

[Habanero Smoker]

Habanero Smoker, do you have a chart for converting volumes of different kinds of salt to weights which you think is accurate?  I agree that it is best to list weights of salt rather than volumes of salt in fish brine recipes, because different kinds of salt have different densities.  And when I try out a new fish brine recipe, usually the first thing I need to do is convert the volume of whatever kind of salt is specified in the recipe to a weight which will work with any kind of salt.  Unfortunately, my googling has turned up quite a variety of weights for different kinds of salt, and quite a variety of conversion factors.  It would be great to have an authoritative conversion table for use in converting volumes of different kinds of salt to weights.

I bellieve the chart you are using came for the Amazing Rib site.

Morton use to have a link to a it's Morton Salt Conversion Guide. When you go to their site the link no longer works. But after doing a search I found that someone on the Smoking Meat Forum had copied the chart from the Morton's site, and posted it over there. This is the Manufacturer's conversion of their salt brands; by volume (not weight).


I can only go by my experience in using Morton's products, and their Salt Conversion Guide. I have measured/weighed Morton's Kosher, Pickling & Canning, and Table salts. I have also measured/weighed Ball's Pickling & Canning Salt, and it measures and weighs the same as Morton's Pickling Salt, and table salt.

Here are commonly used salt weights to use for conversion, that most highly regarded cookbooks list.

1 cup table salt (all brands) = 10 oz. = 285 grams
1 cup Morton Kosher Salt = 8 oz. = 225 grams
1 cup Diamond Crystal Salt = 5.5 oz. = 155 grams

[rooster85]

Got another question guys, sorry, I've had the salmon out of the brine and its in a cool dry place but it hasn't started to set up yet. Been out for several hours. This could take up to 24 hours?

[pmmpete]

By "set up," do you mean form in a shiny dry outside layer, called a "pellicle?"  If so, you have two options:

(a) If the air is cool and/or humid, or you are keeping the fish cool in a refrigerator, it can take longer to form a pellicle.  In an effort to speed up the drying, you can set up a fan to blow air across the fillets, and/or set the fish out in a room-temperature area. 

(b) put the fish in your smoker at 80-100 degrees for an hour, without any smoke, in an effort to dry off the fish. 

The reason you want to form a pellicle before you start smoking the fish is because fish or sausage which is wet doesn't absorb smoke well.  However, you don't want to leave the fish for too long at temperatures above 40 degrees while forming a pellicle, because bacteria can grow in the fish at warmer temperatures, and you may spoil the fish.